BNP BNP Paribas

By Noemie Bisserbe

PARIS--Human-rights groups representing victims of the Darfur genocide filed a criminal complaint Thursday against BNP Paribas SA (BNP.FR) alleging the French bank provided financial services to Sudan that propped up its regime.

Four years ago, the Paris-based lender agreed to pay nearly $9 billion and plead guilty to crimes for violating U.S. sanctions against Sudan, Iran and Cuba, in an unprecedented settlement with U.S. authorities. In court documents, BNP Paribas acknowledged using regional banks overseas to process more than $20 billion in financial transactions linked to companies and government agencies in Sudan--at a time when the nation was engaged in what the U.S. and others labeled genocide.

The genocide's Sudanese victims, however, never received any compensation. "To this day, they have been denied the possibility of justice," said Mossaad M. Ali, the executive director of African Center for Justice and Peace Studies, a Sudanese human rights organization and plaintiff in the case.

BNP Paribas said it wasn't aware of the complaint and that the bank doesn't comment on judicial procedures.

Write to Noemie Bisserbe at noemie.bisserbe@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 26, 2019 09:13 ET (13:13 GMT)

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